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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · racket · staff · mine · bark · row · nail · kid

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. row — a line
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rash — hasty
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kid — to tease
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. staff — a stick
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. staff — employees
  18. rash — a series
  19. kid — child
  20. mine — for digging
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com